German chancellor helps French mark end of WWI

In Belgium, which saw some of the fiercest and bloodiest trench warfare, King Albert II led the royal family and government officials in a solemn commemoration in Brussels at the tomb of the unknown soldier.

In Ieper – a Belgian municipality better known to soldiers by its French name, Ypres – tens of thousands of people lined the narrow streets of the town left in ruins during the war and now a world symbol of peace. Ceremonies were held around the Menen Gate war memorial, where the names of 55,000 missing soldiers are engraved.

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AP writers Constant Brand in Belgium and Jennifer Quinn in London contributed to this report.